Wicked sets new records

Magical musical Wicked has started 2015 in sparkling form, setting new box office records for both its London and touring productions.

The week ending 3 January saw the Oz-set tune-fest gross £1,023,819 at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it has now been seen by more than six million people since opening in 2006.

The same week saw the touring production gross £1,136,558.50 at the Edinburgh Playhouse, breaking the previous record, set at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre in November, by £250,000.

UK Executive Producer Michael McCabe commented: “We are greatly indebted to our extremely talented and hard-working companies, who have contributed to another hugely successful year for Wicked in London and on tour, and we thank the 45,000 theatregoers who made these extraordinary box office records possible last week.”

Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West, the musical tells the previously untold and surprising story of the famous film villain. Far from being a hideous, cackling, shoe-coveting monster, it tells of a misunderstood schoolgirl with a peculiar shade of skin and how her life and actions are twisted.

The London production currently stars US actress Jennifer DiNoia as the green-tinged Elphaba with Savannah Stevenson as her nemesis/friend Glinda. From 2 February Emma Hatton, the current Standby Elphaba, will replace DiNoia, with former Rock Of Ages star Natalie Andreou joining as the new Standby.